{"id":385669,"date":"2026-07-24T22:59:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T22:59:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/385669\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T22:59:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T22:59:13","slug":"cowboys-defense-doesnt-have-to-be-doomsday-for-dallas-to-contend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/385669\/","title":{"rendered":"Cowboys’ defense doesn’t have to be Doomsday for Dallas to contend"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Dallas<\/p>\n

Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker visits with Dallas Cowboys linebacker Shemar James during a mini-camp practice at The Star in Frisco, June 16, 2026.<\/p>\n

Tom Fox\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n

Nothing heralds football\u2019s arrival like the Cowboys\u2019\u00a0annual pilgrimage to Oxnard<\/a>, their 20th, if you count these things. Given all we\u2019ve endured from Jerry Jones over the last couple decades, seems like we\u2019ve earned the right to summer in bliss instead while the Cowboys sweat it out here in one of Dante\u2019s seven circles of hell.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s any consolation, we\u2019ll learn over the next month that the Cowboys\u2019 defense isn\u2019t half as bad as it was last year, and a plunge into the deep end of the playoffs awaits<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And, no, I haven\u2019t stayed out in the sun too long.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n

RELATED: Dallas Cowboys 2026 training camp preview<\/a><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with the obvious: Christian Parker\u2019s defense couldn\u2019t be any worse than Matt Eberflus\u2019, or Mike Zimmer\u2019s before that. Parker is, if you remember, the Cowboys\u2019 fourth DC in four years, a high-turnover rate even for babysitters. Early returns indicate Parker might be at least as good as Dan Quinn was. Let\u2019s hope so. They\u2019re due, anyway.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Parker is a disciple of Vic Fangio, who once professed he knew the secret to beating Dak Prescott and the Cowboys. Turns out a lot of people were in on it, but his point was well taken. Frankly, I\u2019m down with anything Parker might have packed from Philadelphia.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, he didn\u2019t smuggle out Cooper\u00a0DeJean or Zack Baun or Quinyon Mitchell, and that\u2019s the real issue here. Because even if Parker calls everything right, it won\u2019t matter if his charges can\u2019t so much as line up straight.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Parker might, indeed, work the same wonders that Bill Murray did for his troops in \u201cStripes,\u201d but the real difference will be the quality of the material.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n

Doesn\u2019t matter the sport. In case you slept through my World Cup column<\/a>, the reason the USMNT continues to disappoint through a long history of managers is not unlike the Cowboys\u2019 predicament on defense. Of the tournament\u2019s top 50 consensus players, Spain boasted nine; France, eight; and the U.S. came up at the rear with one, same as Senegal and the Ivory Coast.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Basically, the Cowboys\u2019 defense last year and for a while now has been the Senegal of the NFL.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Dallas<\/p>\n

Dallas Cowboys new defensive coordinator Christian Parker (left) instructs newly drafted safety Caleb Downs of Ohio State during rookie minicamp at the Star in Frisco, on Friday, May 1, 2026.<\/p>\n

Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n

The good news is that after years, even decades, of the Joneses devoting most of their cap space to offense, they\u2019re spreading the love, at least a little. They spent big on Quinnen Williams and Kenny Carter up front; brought in Cobie Durant at cornerback and Jalen Thompson at safety; and used their first three picks on defense.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unless Parker is some sort of wizard, it\u2019s not a descendant of the Doomsday Defense. Even if DeMarvion Overshown remains upright, the Cowboys are still thin at linebacker. At least on paper. ESPN is of the opinion that Jaishawn Barham could fill the edge\/linebacker role played so well by\u00a0Baun and Jihaad Campbell in Philly. If Barham comes anywhere close to that comparison, it would be a considerable upgrade for the Cowboys\u2019 defense.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n

If Barham doesn\u2019t, Parker would still lack a dynamic pass rusher upfront, meaning he\u2019ll have to get it with a committee of Malachi Lawrence, Rashan Gary and Donovan Ezeiruaku.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Cowboys are counting heavily on rookies Barham, Lawrence and Caleb Downs to turn around the defense. Given their draft history this century on that side of the ball, it might be too much to ask. When I asked Stephen Jones this spring why the Cowboys are so much better drafting on offense than defense, he said he didn\u2019t know, but he\u2019d look into it.<\/p>\n

My guess is Jerry Jones knows offense sells tickets. He says he\u2019s learned his lesson. Looks like it, anyway. Trading Micah Parsons was a mistake<\/a>, but at least he understands you can\u2019t expect to control the line of scrimmage with second-rate tackles. Good ones are expensive. And when it came time to hire a DC, he didn\u2019t stick with his tired history of former head coaches. Parker is considered an up-and-comer. If he does his job well enough this fall, the Cowboys might soon be hiring their fifth DC in five years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not coming in with a Super Bowl defense,\u201d Jerry said earlier this year. \u201cAnd should he end up with one, then he\u2019ll look like one of the greatest defensive-minded coaches there is.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fortunately for the Cowboys, they don\u2019t need Parker to be the second coming of Bill Belichick. They just need him to raise the level of their defense to league-average. Do that, and the offense will take it from there.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n

Does it mean Super Bowl or bust, as at least one national pundit suggests? Pretty big bet. Dak has to stay healthy, meaning his tackles have to do their part. Tyler Guyton is still a long, long way from inheriting Tyron Smith\u2019s legacy. We\u2019ll see what George Pickens does for an encore. Same with Javonte Williams. But, on the whole, the Cowboys haven\u2019t had this much juice on offense since the Super Bowl days.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The onus, then, is on the defense. If it\u2019s not another embarrassment, it\u2019d be enough to win the division. Better than average, and it could take the Cowboys places they haven\u2019t been since we got used to such things. A long time, in other words. At least four adult children\u2019s worth, by my count.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker visits with Dallas Cowboys linebacker Shemar James during a mini-camp practice at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":385670,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[2353,102,104,103,135716,93042,124547,88775],"class_list":["post-385669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-commentary","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news","tag-tp-christian-parker","tag-tp-dallas-cowboys","tag-tp-training-camp","tag-tp-jerry-jones"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=385669"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385669\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/385670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=385669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=385669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=385669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}